Man Utd boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has confirmed that Anthony Martial will miss their Europa League encounter with LASK on Thursday due to injury.
The Red Devils travel to Austria this week for the first leg of their round-of-16 tie, as they will hope to take another step closer to reaching the final.
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Due to the coronavirus outbreak, the game will be played behind closed doors, but Solskjaer has an injury concern to deal with too which could also impact his plans for the crunch showdown with Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham on Sunday.
“Anthony hurt himself when he slid into the post [vs Man City],” he said, as quoted by the club’s official site. “So he’s not ready for this game. Hopefully, he can be ready for Sunday [at Tottenham] but I’m not sure. He’s struggling a little bit.”
The 24-year-old has bagged 16 goals and five assists in 34 appearances so far this season, and coupled with Marcus Rashford’s ongoing stint on he sidelines with his own injury problems, it will be a major blow for Man Utd if the Frenchman can’t recover in time for the weekend to lead the line.
Meanwhile, Solskjaer did deliver some more positive news on Paul Pogba, as although the midfield ace won’t feature against LASK either, the Man Utd boss suggested that he could be back in training with the rest of the squad next week.
“Paul is getting closer, yes,” he added. “But, today, he wasn’t with the team and has not trained with the team yet. Hopefully, by next week, he will be ready.”
Although United have been getting on well without him in recent weeks, the quality and experience that Pogba brings to the table could still be decisive as they chase down their objectives.
Pairing him up with Bruno Fernandes could add a different dynamic to the side and more creative quality, and so it remains to be seen when he’s ready to make his comeback from injury with United still pushing for silverware and Champions League qualification.